1
Agricultural Science (Animal)
Article by: Ronald R. Johnson, Department of Animal Science, Institute of Agriculture, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN.
W. A. Williams, Department of Agronomy and Range Science, University of California, Davis, CA.
Access to this content is available to Ward's World readers for free
from McGraw Hill's AccessScience, an award-winning, digital STEM
resource that provides immediate, authoritative answers to students' thirst
for scientific knowledge on topics such as climate change, virology,
pollution, and more. Ward's World and McGraw Hill have partnered to
offer educators a no-obligation, free trial subscription to this product.
Request your free trial today and discover how valuable AccessScience
can be for you and your students.
The science that deals with the selection, breeding,
nutrition, and management of domestic animals for
economical production of meat, milk, eggs, wool, hides,
and other animal products. The broad field of agricultural
science focuses on two realms: plants and animals. In the
latter case, agricultural science involves the production
of animals useful to humans. In particular, animal-related
agricultural science involves the breeding and management
of livestock (Fig. 1). In addition, horses for draft and pleasure,
dogs and cats for pets, rabbits for meat production, and bees
for honey production may be included.
When early societies first domesticated animals, they were
kept as means of meeting the immediate needs for food,
transportation, and clothing. Sheep were probably the first
and most useful animals to be domesticated because they
furnished milk and meat for food, and hides and wool for
clothing. As chemistry, physiology, anatomy, genetics, nutri-
tion, parasitology, pathology, and other sciences developed,
their principles were applied to the field of animal science,
and great strides have been made in livestock production.
+
ward
'
s
science
Key Concepts
• Agricultural science is a broad field that involves work on both animals and plants.
•
With regard to animals, agricultural science encompasses the selection, breeding, nutrition, and management
of domestic livestock for economical production of meat, milk, eggs, wool, hides, and other animal products
useful to humans.
• Sheep were probably the first and most useful animals to be domesticated.
•
Scientific livestock feeding involves the systematic application of the principles of animal nutrition to the feeding
of farm animals.
• The emphasis on intensive animal production has increased stresses on animals and generally increased the need
for close surveillance of herds or flocks for disease outbreaks.
Fig. 1: Sheep on a farm in Wyoming. Sheep are important livestock and need to be properly
managed according to agricultural science principles.
(Credit: Stephen Ausmus, Agricultural Research Service/U.S. Department of Agriculture)
